


On The First Day of Christmas, I Got A Latte

by imabignerd



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Businessman!Daichi, Christmas, Coffee Shop manager!Suga, Fluff, M/M, Suga's way too into the holidays, i'm trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:05:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5430788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imabignerd/pseuds/imabignerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Daichi was well aware that typically, looking up at someone was one sure way to get an unflattering viewpoint of them - after all, Oikawa had made sure to drive the point home from the multitude of times he’d taken snapchats of Daichi from underneath the table during particularly boring meetings <em>(“Ooh, if you keep making that scary face, your double chin will stay forever Dai-chan!”).</em> But the newcomer apparently knew nothing of such unseemly human laws of attractiveness, because unflattering angle and all, he was absolutely <em>stunning. </em><br/></p>
</blockquote>In which Daichi may or may not be a little infatuated with the manager of a local coffee shop, the rest of the baristas are unhelpful, and his coworkers are annoying <em>and</em> unhelpful.<p>Coffee shop during the holidays AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Oh baby you’ll freeze out there_  
_It’s up to your knees out there_  
_Thrill when you touch my hand_  
_How can you do this thing to me?_

* * *

The coffee shop down by Mikage station might be a little out of the way, but it had reviews that praised its desserts to the heavens and apparently the staff was a warm lot (“Perhaps a little overenthusiastic, but I’m not complaining. Will come back for entertainment value,” one five-star review had read, whatever that meant), so Daichi was willing to make the trip.

(Okay, so the shop was several stops away, but it had been kind of a terrible day. Plus, as a wise man once said, “Treat yourself.”)

Karasuno Cafe was a homey little thing that sat, tucked away behind a couple of looming office buildings. Low set windows with curtains drawn wide apart - _open and inviting,_ Daichi’s marketing mind noted approvingly. Maybe the sprayed layer of speckly white across the bottom of the windows was a bit pre-emptive given it wasn’t even December yet - not to mention, it rarely got cold enough for snow in Hyogo anyways, rendering fake frost on the windows moot altogether - but then again, they’d started holiday advertising at work weeks ago, so he couldn’t exactly complain. 

It looked promising enough. With any luck, he’d find a new haunt (after all, Daichi was a creature of habit - when the coffee shop downstairs of the office had a switch in management translated into new coffee beans that tasted like water with a hint of eau de dishwashing towel, he got into a mood so foul the rest of his department gave him a wide berth for the rest of the day).

 _Might as well give it a try,_ he thought dryly. 

So he pushed open the door and stepped into the shop --

\-- and his world exploded into chaos.

More specifically, he managed to catch a loud screech of _“INCOMING,”_ before someone barreled into his side, sending them both crashing to the cold tiling.

“ _SHIT_ oh god dude, are you okay I’m so sorry, please tell me you’re still alive so Suga-san won’t stab me --”

“I knew this was a bad idea, _I knew it --”_

“Live a little, Asahi!”

 _“He nearly killed a man!_ What would Ukai-san say?!”

Amid the ensuing ruckus, Daichi wheezed, propping himself up to show that he was at the least, very much alive. _So that’s what that reviewer meant by ‘entertainment value’,_ he thought dazedly, as his attacker - a small male whose loudness seemed to overflow from his diminutive stature into the hair that spiked dramatically above his head - was still yelling his apologies into Daichi’s ear.

“He’s not dead, so at least there’s that,” the short barista - or at least, Daichi assumed he was a barista, what with his apron - intoned, a note petulant as some giant with a man bun bodily lifted him up from the ground.

Man Bun set Loud Shortie down, and immediately used his now free hands to gesticulate frantically. “Nishinoya, you literally jumped on the poor guy! I _told_ you not to jump, but you didn’t listen!”

“Would’ve been okay if you just caught him, Asahi,” another barista called - this one a startling contrast to the shorter one, what with his shaved head - from a little ways across the cafe.

“Thanks Ryuu.” The barista that was apparently Nishinoya shot a quick thumbs up to Bald Barista Ryuu, who reciprocated in kind. He turned his ire back on Asahi. “I trusted you to catch me, Asahi-san! I even said --” He pursed his lips, pressed his hands together, and tuned his voice several notches higher into a piss poor mimicry of the female tone. _“Catch me, Jack, I’m flying! I’m flying, Jack!”_

_“That’s not how Titanic goes!”_

Daichi was watching the exchange in equal parts bemusement, amusement, and just flat out horror when a new voice cut in - a key softer than the rest, Daichi noted. “What’s going on?” 

He glanced upwards, and --

Oh.

_Oh._

Daichi was well aware that typically, looking up at someone was one sure way to get an unflattering viewpoint of them - after all, Oikawa had made sure to drive the point home from the multitude of times he’d taken snapchats of Daichi from underneath the table during particularly boring meetings _(“Ooh, if you keep making that scary face, your double chin will stay forever Dai-chan!”)._ But the newcomer apparently knew nothing of such unseemly human laws of attractiveness, because unflattering angle and all, he was absolutely _stunning._

“Suga-san!” Nishinoya called, gesturing awkwardly at Daichi. “I, um, nothing! I might’ve accidentally knocked someone over, but _you know!”_

“Might’ve,” Ryuu snorted from his post behind the counter.

Resident Angel - Suga, apparently - sighed, fixing his gaze on Daichi instead. He offered Daichi an apologetic smile - it was a challenge and a half for Daichi not to choke on his own spit, because _oh god how can any one person pack so much purity into a smile -_ and a hand. “Are you okay?” 

Suddenly, Daichi became hyper-aware of the fact that he was still on the ground. _Way to look stupid, Daichi,_ the voice inside his head scolded him, and he suffered silently as his ears burned what was undoubtedly a bright Rudolph’s-nose-red. “I’m good, I’m good,” he assured, taking the hand (his fingers were so slim and pale next to Daichi’s - and immediately he quashed that train of thought, because _Daichi, you need to stop)._ “Just, surprised, is all.”

Suga bit his lip in a half-hearted effort to stop the tips of his mouth from quirking up. “No doubt,” he said. He addressed the rest of the staff, eyeing them with the air of a mildly disapproving mother, “So, what happened?”

Nishinoya shuffled his feet awkwardly. “I was just putting up the lights, like you said, Suga-san,” he mumbled, “and I was too lazy to climb back down the ladder. So, you know, I jumped at Asahi.”

“You tried, you mean,” Asahi interjected.

“How was I supposed to know someone was going to walk in at that exact moment?!”

Suga snorted, and Daichi looked down at him, surprised. It wasn’t the most delicate of laughs, but at the same time, somehow, it suited him. It was boyish - charming - in a way.

“Ah,” Suga smothered his chuckle, probably suddenly realizing he had a duty to uphold. “Try not to jump on innocent customers again, okay Noya?”

“Wait, Suga, what about _me?”_

“I’m sure you’ll live, Asahi.” The - manager? - grinned widely before dimpling at Daichi instead, ignoring Asahi’s wounded _‘why?!’._ “Anyways, I’m sorry about that, Mr - ah -”

“Daichi. Sawamura Daichi,” Daichi offered a beat too fast. “But uh, you can call me Daichi.” 

As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted it. _What if Suga thinks he’s being too forward, too familiar too fast - oh god, what if he finds Daichi_ weird --

“I’m Sugawara Koushi, but everyone calls me Suga,” Suga cut into Daichi’s thoughts brightly - and a bit unnecessarily, because frankly, Daichi had filed his name away forever the moment he’d heard it. He reached out to tug lightly at Daichi’s wrist, pulling him further into the cafe. “Name what you want, it’s on the house. For, you know. Taking a Noya to the ribs.”

Daichi jerked back briefly into reality - _get it together, Sawamura, seriously -_ to stutter a, “Ah, no, no it’s fine, I possibly couldn’t --”

“Daichi.” Was that the disapproving mother tone? “Nishinoya literally swan-dived onto you. It’s fine.”

“I mean, it wasn’t quite _that_ elegant,” Ryuu muttered with what was distinctly a shit-eating grin, and then ‘oof’ed as Nishinoya elbowed him in the side.

“I-I guess a latte is fine then, thanks,” Daichi said, eyeing the other baristas worriedly when Nishinoya let loose a battle cry within the confines of Asahi’s restraining arms as Ryuu laughed uproariously. While there were no other patrons at the moment, he kind of couldn’t help but wonder about the effectiveness of their energy as a business strategy.

Suga seemed to follow his train of thoughts, as he grinned his perfect dimply grin as he let go of Daichi to slide behind the counters. “They’re a bit rowdy, but they’re a good bunch,” he said, as he scribbled something on the back of a coffee cup. “There’s never a boring moment with them, that’s for sure.”

Daichi let out a breathless laugh. “Yeah, no kidding.” In a rush to prevent the conversation from tapering off, he added, “I guess I now see what the reviews mean by ‘entertaining’.”

“Is that what they say about us?” Suga tucked his hair - it shone silvery under the warm lighting, and Daichi wondered if this man could be any more unfair - behind an ear as he worked. He snickered. “I sure hope we’re known for something other than our ability to entertain.”

“For a place with four and half stars on Yelp, I’d certainly say so. They talk a lot about your croissants.”

“How flattering, you’ve clearly looked into us,” Suga cooed teasingly. He flashed Daichi another grin as he moved through the procedure in fluid, well-practiced ease. “We don’t have any croissants right now since Asahi’s too busy taking preventative measures,” he jutted his chin towards where Asahi was now lugging Nishinoya towards what was evidently the staff room, “to actually make any replacements, but that just means you’ll have to come back, right?”

 _Come back,_ he said. _You’ll have to come back._

Praise his parents for his rational mind, Daichi mused dryly. He’d almost stopped breathing, but Suga obviously didn’t mean anything by that. _Calm down, Sawamura. What are you, still in middle school?_

“Yeah,” Daichi swallowed, “Yeah, I will. For sure.”

The smile that he got in response was even sunnier than the ones before. Suga’s beauty mark - that Daichi had only just noticed, somehow - scrunched against his cheek with the force of his cheer. “I’ll be holding you to that, then!”

* * *

Later, when Daichi was sent through the door with a chorus of ‘bye’s and ‘sorry for the trouble’s, he turned the cup around in his hands, curious - if memory served, Suga had definitely written something on the cup. Lo and behold, written in black marker was a looping, _‘come back again soon! :D’_

Daichi spent the rest of the trip home in an jittery euphoria.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied updates will happen whenever because yolo amirite

_Ohh, come over here and help me trim the tree  
I wanna wrap you up  
Baby, then you’ll see you’re the only present I need_

A few days later, Daichi found himself tugging open the door to Karasuno Cafe once again. For the croissant, he told himself. _For the croissant._

(Though, he was extraordinarily cautious when stepping in - he’d rather avoid being taken down by another flying barista, thank you very much.)

This time around, he was gratified to find that Nishinoya was not in the mood for performing inaccurate reenactments of the Titanic, praise the lord. He was still clearly in the cafe though, what with his larger-than-his-tiny-self presence - to be fair, it also helped that he was teetering perilously on a chair, muttering what was no doubt colourful curses under his breath as he strained over a Christmas tree that looked entirely too large to belong in the cafe. 

Daichi glanced around his cozy surroundings, and -- there Suga was, standing behind the counter. Apparently he’d been spotted first though, as the other had waved cheerily at him, beckoning him over.

Suga lightly patted a nearby employee - another short male (what is with this establishment and their tiny baristas, anyways) with what looked like horrifyingly unmanageable hair - to presumably serve the next customer as the door tinkled merrily behind Daichi. “Daichi!” Suga called ( _he remembered his name,_ Daichi noted, and then focused intensely on quelling the shrill internal cheering) offering one of his what seemed to be perpetual smiles. “You came back!”

Daichi found himself grinning back, ‘cause _god,_ Suga’s smile was nothing if not infectious. “I did say I would,” he conceded, gesturing to the display case to his left where baked goods were lined up in neat little racks in all their pristine glory. “Any chance for that croissant?”

At that, Suga winced. He glanced glumly at the case. “Ahh, if I knew you were coming I would’ve saved you one. We had a couple left, but,” he cocked his head at the tiny barista who had apparently given up on his endeavours - whatever they were - and was now draped miserably over his chair, “Noya ate the last ones, I’m sorry.”

Apparently Noya caught the end of that - in a show of surprisingly good hearing, considering how loud he was typically - as he called back, defensive, “They were calling to me, Suga-san!”

“Just like the tree, Noya,” was Suga’s response. “Don’t think I don’t see you slacking off.”

“What _is_ he doing?” Daichi said apprehensively, eyeing the barista. He was now glaring bitterly down at something in his hand - a small black furry thing, as far Daichi could see - as if the thing had personally insulted his family and he was now genuinely considering throwing it out a window in retaliation. 

“Putting the tree topper up - or trying, anyways,” he answered amusedly, leaning on the counter to peer over at Noya. “He offered to get it up when I couldn’t, bless his soul.”

“That - that black thing he’s got?” Oops, that might’ve sounded a little accusatory. Daichi backpedaled, “I mean, I’m sure it’s a great tree topper, it’s just --”

“A little unconventional?” Suga saved him, his eyes crinkling as the tips of his lips turned upwards. He peered up at Daichi through the thick veil of his lashes - _unfair,_ Daichi thought. “It’s meant to be a crow, you know. And - I can show you later - it has this little santa hat attached to it, too,” he claimed, a proud note to his tone.

Daichi blinked. A crow? Oh wait - Karasuno, _of course._ “Where did you even find a tree topper like that?”

The other man shrugged. “Eh --”

Red-Head Barista popped up at Suga’s elbow - clearly just done serving his customer as he came sliding in, wiping his hands on his apron - mimicking Suga’s casual lean on the counter. “Sugawara-san made it!” he piped up, and in true Karasuno style, offered a wide grin at Daichi.

“Hinata,” Suga scolded lightly, nudging the barista gently with his elbow. “He didn’t need to know that.”

Daichi raised a brow. He was actually mildly impressed - a crow with a santa hat for a tree topper; i _nnovative_ \- but that was definitely some dedication to the holidays, to make an actual decoration for a tree at your job instead of - you know - buying a star and calling it a day like Daichi (and probably 98% of the population) would’ve done. 

(Essentially, he was coming to find that either a) Suga has some sort of fanatic dedication to the holidays, or b) Suga was basically a grandma with a compulsive craft-making spirit. Interesting revelations, all around.)

“Hello, businessman-san,” came Nishinoya’s voice. Daichi glanced behind him to see the barista lugging his chair behind him.

He tugged self-consciously at the edges of his freshly pressed dress shirt. “It’s Daichi.”

“Hello, Daichi-san,” Nishinoya amended - with a completely unrepentant grin that kind of told Daichi that maybe, just maybe, Noya hadn’t needed the reminder at all - before turning to address Suga. “Sorry manager, I gave up.”

“Welcome back, Noya,” Suga greeted. Daichi was a little disappointed to find that he had straightened up now, leaning away from Daichi to let Noya behind the counter. “Your determination was rather short-lived.”

“And your tree is rather massive.” Nishinoya moaned, sinking down to clutch dramatically at the edge of his seat-turned-step-stool. “Where’s Asahi when you need him?”

“Buying more supplies so he can replace the croissants that you ate.”

“Terrible,” Nishinoya grumbled as way of response. “Absolutely terrible. Who decided that putting up the tree would be a good idea when the short brigade is on shift?”

Daichi had to turn away to hide his snort. 

Immediately, the red-haired barista began whining, “Noya-saaan --” and Suga sniffed, mock offended. 

“Speak for yourself,” Suga groused, “I’m not _that_ short.”

Daichi cleared his throat, cutting in (“Hate to tell you,” Nishinoya was saying, “but you’re the next shortest after me and Hinata, Suga-san.”). He gestured at the ornament that Nishinoya still had clutched in his hand, the bright red of its hat peeking out between his fingers. “You uh, want me to try?”

Suga gave him an obvious once-over even as Nishinoya shoved the thing into Daichi’s hands as if it had suddenly burned him. “Appreciated, Daichi, but you’re not that much taller.”

“Okay,” Suga said two minutes and a toy crow successfully perched on the tree later, “I stand corrected.”

Daichi patted his clothes down - wouldn’t do to get his dress shirt rumpled before he went in for work; otherwise, he’d never hear the end of it from Oikawa. (He’d once went to work with the back of his shirt untucked; Daichi was pretty sure his coworker just about had an aneurysm, ‘cause _for the love of everything that is good, Dai-chan, at least try to look presentable._ Then Kuroo and Bokuto had done nothing but laugh at him.) 

He offered a mild grin as he rolled his sleeves down primly. “Don’t underestimate the wall of the few centimeters,” he said smugly. Daichi glanced back at the tree that stood innocently by the side. To be fair, it wasn’t terribly surprising that the other three had trouble with the tree - it was kind of - well, _gigantic._ It loomed all ominous-like over the cafe, with its bright circling lights and blots of black and white (more crows along with miniature coffee cups as decorative pieces in the place of the traditional baubles; endearing, definitely endearing, but mildly concerning in the same breath).

Noya snorted. “Keep him around, Suga-san. He’s helpful.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” There it was - Suga’s boyish grin, back in all its overwhelming glory. “I’ve still got plenty of tinsel to put up.”

Daichi raised a brow. Actually, he took that back - this was beginning to border closer to ‘concerning’ rather than ‘endearing’. “I’m almost beginning to feel like you spend more time decorating than actually making food here.”

“Gotta attract our customers somehow,” Suga laughed. “Plus, it got you here, didn’t it? What was it, we’re ‘entertaining’?”

“That, and the promise of croissants,” he teased. 

“We’re still lacking in that department,” a gesture at the conspicuous lacking in croissant in the display case, “but could I perhaps interest you in one of our holiday drinks? I make a mean eggnog latte.”

Somehow, along the way, it had completely slipped from Daichi’s mind that _right, he was in a cafe to buy a coffee._ “Right, drinks. Yes.” Daichi glanced at the soft glow of his phone - 9:48 AM, he was definitely running late. “Sure, let’s go with that.” He shot Suga a grin. “I’ll be back for the croissant though, just you wait.”

When Daichi looked down at his pockets, patting his jacket down in search of his wallet, he caught what was distinctly a gagging sound accompanied by a _‘giving me diabetes’_ and a hissed, ‘Noya, _stop.’_ He glanced back up, suspicious, but they’d apparently rearranged themselves into passable normalcy, Noya hustling off to join Hinata in serving (notably, for the first time since Daichi had first entered this establishment, incredible).

Suga beamed at him innocently.

(Definitely suspicious, but Daichi quickly forgot about it when the tip of Suga’s tongue peeked out from between his lips, his face the embodiment of deep concentration as he freehanded something onto his cup. 

In closely related news, ‘endearing’ begin to take a decisive victory over ‘concerning’ as Suga rather sheepishly handed him his cup, a mildly deflated crow with a santa hat drawn in black, looping sharpie.)

**Author's Note:**

> hahaha i'm trash
> 
> so i meant to do this as a short drabble per day for 12 days until Christmas, but let's be real i'm terrible at keeping up with things, so chances are it'll be around 6 chapters, one every other day
> 
> hit me up [@ im-a-big-foig](http://www.im-a-big-foig.tumblr.com) on tumblr


End file.
